Tuesday, May 14, 2013

A sort of gear review: The Fuji X-series

Ha Giang Province Vietnam: 1/125 @f/2 ISO 400, Fuji x100

The other
day I had to make a call I never wanted to have to make. At 28 I needed to see
a chiropractor - some would call it the photographers curse, a curse that
unfortunately goes with the territory. Lugging heavy camera gear around,
usually with it hanging from the neck, waist or one shoulder eventually takes its toll. This realisation
along with some other vague and equally suspicious excuses was one of the
reasons I'd been interested getting myself one of Fujifilm's X-Series cameras - the
thought of having a camera that was small and light and could maybe even
supplement my heavy old SLR was appealing. I knew they would probably never
replace my SLR for work but as everyday cameras they seemed to offer a good
compromise.

Saigon, Vietnam: 1/2000 @f/2.8 ISO 400, Fuji x100

Halong Bay, Vietnam: 1/1100 @f/5.6, ISO 400, FUJI X100

Halong Bay, Vietnam: 1/750 @f/5.6, ISO 400, FUJI X100

Saigon, Vietnam: 1/60 @f/2 ISO 2500, Fuji x100

Halong Bay, Vietnam: 1/500 @f/5.6 ISO 400, Fuji x100

From the train, Vietnam: 1/60 @f/4 ISO 1600, Fuji x100

On a train Vietnam: 1/60 @f/4 ISO 2000, Fuji x100

Hue, Vietnam: 1/1000 @f/5.6 ISO 400, Fuji x100

Saigon, Vietnam: 1/60 @f/2 ISO 3200, Fuji x100

Hong Kong: 1/60 @f/4 ISO 200, Fuji x100

In 2011 I
bought the Fujifilm x100, a camera I loved to hate, a camera that for me was so
nearly there in terms of what I personally was after but somehow not quite. It
looked fantastic (for some reason more of an appeal to me than it really should
be) and contained pretty much my perfect carry around set-up; packing an
equivalent of 35mm f/2 lens. It was almost too silent when it took a photo (to
the point where at times I wasn't even sure it had taken) but is small size and
discretion were a big plus for me, the whole thing could slip in my pocket and
yet it felt good in the hand with a nice weight. The whole manual shutter and
aperture operation were a total winner for me.

Morocco: 1/500 @f/8 ISO200, Fuji X100

Los Angeles, USA: 1/2000 @f/5.6, ISO 400, Fuji x100

Train window, England: 1/1000 @f/8, ISO 400, Fuji x100

Switzerland: 1/1000 @f/6.4, ISO 1000 Fuji x100

I think Fuji had finally
realised something that most camera manufacturers seemed to have failed to realise,
photographers are creatures of habit, we are by and large dinosaurs, and we
like what we know, and what we know works. So many cameras that come on to the
market aren't aimed at dinosaurs, they are aimed at the mass consumer. Manual
shutter dials and aperture rings disappeared from all but 'pro' cameras because
they seemed archaic. This may well be the case but equally they were a tried
and tested functions that had been the norm for decades, and yet within a matter
of years digital cameras had consigned them to the graveyard, much to the
annoyance of the dinosaurs.

The original Fuji x100

Fuji it seems finally cottoned onto this and their
x-series cameras are evidence of that – they’re a nod to a system that is tried and tested. Nevertheless
with the x100 they still managed to get a few things wrong. They may have
designed the hardware well but the internals, the menu system, was a generally
nonsensical and the camera had a habit of not responding particularly fast, it
was sluggish, not much but just enough, and it acted at time likes a despondent
child. Luckily Fuji were a company that actually listened to its customers and
the firmware updates did start to tackle these problems.

Paul, London: 1/220 @f/2, ISO 400, Fuji x100

Low Tatra mountains, Slovakia: 1/1000 @f/5.6 ISO 400, Fuji x100

Low Tatra mountains, Slovaki: 1/2000 @f/8, ISO 400, Fuji x100

London, UK: 1/640 @f/8, ISO 400, Fuji x100

London, UK: 1/640 @f/5.6, ISO 400, Fuji x100

London, UK: 1/250, @f/11, ISO 400, Fuji x100

London, UK: 1/8, @f/2, ISO 2500 (flash), Fuji x100

Wales, UK: 1/124, @f/4, ISO 400, Fuji x100

Belfast, UK: 1/60, @f/2, ISO 1000, Fuji x100

Marrakech, Morocco: 1/60, @f/2.8, ISO 1000, Fuji x100

Essaouira, Morocco:1/500, @f/8, ISO 200, Fuji x100

Tony and Charlie, Morocco: 1/60, @f/2, ISO 1600, Fuji x100

Train to Scotland, UK: 1/60, @f/4, ISO 640, Fuji x100

London, UK: 1/500, @f/8, ISO 1000, Fuji x100

Adam, LA, USA: 1/60, @f/2, ISO 1600, Fuji x100

Nevada, USA: 1/500, @f/4, ISO 200, Fuji x100

Nadine, San Francisco, USA: 1/125, @f/2, ISO 200, Fuji x100

Highway 101, USA: 1/250, @f/8, ISO 200, Fuji x100

Adam and Nadine say goodbye, LA, USA: 1/125, @f/4, ISO 200, Fuji x100

Around
the same time I upgraded my phone to an iPhone 4S and for the first time ever
found myself increasingly taking my snaps with that rather than a 'proper'
camera. I guess as master self-publicist photo guru Chase Jarvis likes to
say, the best camera is the one you have with you. I found this to be true, my
x100 was getting sidelined for a phone. Which is ridiculous when you think about it for quality purposes, but it was possibly because of things like shooting for my instagram that I was posting to much more than I thought I would.

Then
along came the X-Pro. I resisted it for awhile, and had told myself that I
wasn't going to buy it. I then unfortunately went into one of my favourite
little camera shops in London (London Camera Exchange on the Strand) and saw
one sat there looking all flash and fancy in the second-hand cabinet.

I couldn't face leaving it there, so I decided to adopt it there and then,
fishing out my wallet like a total sucker. The X-Pro1 comes in significantly
larger than the x100. The lenses for it are all much larger than the fantastic
23mm f/2 (35mm equivalent) on the x100 and x100s.

Delhi, India: 1/500 @f/5.6 ISO 500, Fuji X-Pro 1 (XF 18mm f2 lens)

Delhi, India: 1/250 @f/11 ISO 400, Fuji X-Pro 1 (XF 18mm f2 lens)

Jodhpur, India: 1/170 @f/5.6, ISO 400, Fuji X-Pro 1 (XF 18mm f2 lens)

Jodhpur, India: 1/60 @f/3.2, ISO 2000, Fuji X-Pro 1 (XF 18mm f2 lens)

Pushkar, India: 1/100 @f/4, ISO 200, Fuji X-Pro 1 (XF 18mm f2 lens)

This places it in a weird
category, it's not quite a point and shoot and it’s not an SLR. The
responsiveness of the camera wasn't quick enough for me to warrant replacing my
SLR with it, it would hunt for focus and I just didn’t feel it was snappy enough
for me. The lenses I have for it (equivalent of a 28mm and a 50mm) are not my
favourite focal lengths, and besides for me the lenses feel too big (at least for a camera that I felt couldn't rival my SLR). Once again however Fuji have been quick to bring out firmware updates which have significantly improved the camera.

Then came
along the Fuji x100S. At first, like with XPro1 I told myself I didn't need it
or want it. Then I started to read reviews. And then I made the same fatal
mistake I did with the XPro1, I dropped into London Camera Exchange with the
aim of getting a new backup up SLR body. Instead I came out of the shop with a
new x100S. Damn, how did that happen? Unfortunately for me Fuji had listened to
the gripes people had with the x100 had had taken a brave move, they had
released a new camera in pretty much the same body but with some hardware
improvements. My other camera company, seem to only react to their customers
when they're forced too, Fuji it seems cannot do enough to try and please their
customers. It's a fundamentally different mindset, but one that's refreshing. A
few years ago, the thought of a camera company actually updating firmware for
free was almost unthinkable, especially if it didn't really have too. What Fuji
showed was that they were prepared to show respect towards their customers who
had invested in their camera system. It may also be an example of the Japanese business philosophy of Kaisen as alluded too by this blogger. Either way let's face it, in today's digital
camera age buying into a camera system is an investment to which you will see
little return. Camera bodies depreciate in value so quickly you are literally
throwing away cash unless you're going to get a lot of use out of it. Granted
there are plenty of hobbyists out there with disposable income that like buying
different cameras and that's fair enough, but I make my living from
photography. I need to trust the cameras I have, and trust the company that
builds them. I want a company that listens and actually improves a camera. The
x100S seems to show that Fuji may well be that company - I certainly hope so.

London, England: 1/250 @f/2.8 ISO 400, Fuji X100S

That being said I haven't had a chance to really get to grips with the
x100S. I'm yet to have taken it away on assignment with me, and when I'm in
transit is when I tend to use this camera the most. It still vies with my
iPhone for snaps though; the phone is just so damn convenient. Besides I tend
to Instagram a lot - until Fuji introduce wifi then I'm sure the phone will
still be used for that (it does have Eye-Fi transfer however which I haven't
tried yet).

Obviously in terms of quality the phone will never come close to what the Fuji's can produce. The files are lush, the lenses are super high quality, and their performance in low light superb. Some of the images below testify to that.

London, UK: 1/320, @f/5, ISO 400, Fuji x100s

London, UK: 1/500, @f/5, ISO 400, Fuji x100s

London, UK: 1/125, @f/2, ISO 2000, Fuji x100s

London, UK: 1/125, @f/5.6, ISO 400, Fuji x100s

Andrew, London, UK: 1/20, @f/2, ISO 2500, Fuji x100s

Brendan, London, UK: 1/125, @f/2, ISO 400, Fuji x100s

London, UK: 1/125, @f/4, ISO 400, Fuji x100s

1/250, @f/4, ISO 200, Fuji x100s

Sussex, England: 1/30 @f/2 ISO 3200, Fuji X100S

My other gripes with the
x100S are small. The playback mode for the multi-shot mode is an annoying gif
type system, you need to go into the files to see them individually. This to me
seems pointless and should be something you can switch off in the menu. The
view mode cycle should also be able to be adjusted, I rarely if ever use the
eye sensor and I'd like to be remove it from the cycle so that it would jump from
back of the screen to the OVF/EVF.

Freetown, Sierra Leone: 1/1000, @f/11, ISO 400, Fuji x100s

Freetown, Sierra Leone: 1/500, @f/5.6, ISO 500, Fuji x100s

With my SLRs I use back button focus, it makes life a lot more simple.
The Fuji allows this with the AFL/AEL button when in manual mode but I'd like
it if this button were bigger and perhaps shaped like the ones on the Fuji X-Pro 1. That being said the camera can now always be
found either in my bag or slung round my shoulder – I walk
around all day with this thing and hardly notice it’s there.
It’s not the camera for everyone – but I
think it’s the camera for me.

The Fuji X100S

All the images in this article were shot in RAW and processed in Adobe Lightroom with VSCO film presets.

25 comments:

Nice little piece. If you think you have neck, back and shoulder problems at 28 mate, what until you get into your 50's!!!!The Fuji X system has revolutionised my photography with its light weight and high image quality. No more DSLR's for me!The X trans sensor has a long way to go, but I'm happy with the system.

I too am 28 and using mirrorless cameras for work and pleasure (specifically Fuji and Olympus) has changed my approach to photography, not to mention eliminated any back and neck pain I once had from carrying around two Nikon DSLRs. Though it has a few quirks, I am sure that in a few years, the system will be the perfect replacement for DSLRs.

Great Images. I feel like i'm there.Question: Do you spot meter, use exposure comp or just post process to get the high contrast look?I have an X100 since day one. Love it. How is the EVF in the X100S compared to X100? How is the Peaking and split image and focus speed? Really as good as claimed?

Hello Greg. Your pictures here are wonderful, thanks for sharing. I just bought a x-pro1 and am a little blbit struggling with the raw conversion. You say you use Lightroom, do you use it with the Raf files or do you work with the jpegs converted in the camera? Thanks again !Nicolas

Beautiful images. We read so much about the fantastic auto white balance and colour of the Fuji cameras, and how so many shoot in jpg. As I scrolled through, I had in my head that there was no way the white balance had been decided by a camera, and that the variety of colour and toning must also been pre-determined in post. I felt quite vindicated when I read of your workflow! Focal length-wise, do you ever feel you refrain from taking some pictures you see in your head because of the 35mm constraint?

I like working with 35mm. Sure sometimes there are shots I can't take but most of time I look for the shots that I know will work at 35mm. I find that sometimes having restrictions like that are good for boosting your creativity.

Very nice photos and write up. I do have a couple of questions for you. You mention you keep DR set to AUTO. So do you shoot in JPEG only? As the DR setting is only applied o jpeg files in its true form. Its does underexpose raw files but thats it. Or do you shoot in raw? or Both.